Man Threatens to Blow Up Chicago Bus in ‘Jihad Against the White Devil’…as CAIR Releases Pro-Jihad Ads in the Area

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Photo credit: Cook County Sheriff’s Office

On Monday, TheBlaze provided an inside look at the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) new public relations campaign dubbed “MyJihad” or, “#MyJihad.” The ad campaign launched via a series of San Francisco bus ads the first week in January and soon followed suit in Chicago. And now, a man identified as Caleb Russell ironically threatened to blow up a CTA bus in the name of “jihad against the white devil.” Apparently, that was “#hisjihad.”

CAIR, which was named an un-indicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial — the largest terror-funding trial in U.S. history — claims its rebranding efforts are meant to take back the word “jihad” from “anti-Muslims” and paint it in a positive light.

A man threatened to blow up a CTA bus and told police he was “jihad against the white devil” this week, causing evening rush hour passengers to flee in fear for their lives, authorities said. A judge set bail at $90,000 Tuesday for Caleb Russell, 23, of the 4700 block of South Woodlawn Avenue, who was charged with making a bomb threat, a felony, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office and police.

Russell was aboard a CTA bus that was westbound on Chicago Avenue at Orleans Street in the River North neighborhood Monday about 6:20 p.m. when officers on patrol saw the bus stop in the middle of the intersection, according to a police report.

Several passengers told police that Russell made derogatory and racial remarks and threatened to “blow this (expletive) up,’’ the report said.

Russell also began yelling racial slurs at responding officers and said he was “jihad against the white devil,’’ the report said.

After the driver pushed the panic button, numerous passengers who “feared for their lives’’ exited from the rear and front of the bus, the report said….

As TheBlaze noted in its previous report, slogans for the new CAIR-led ad campaign appearing on the buses include:

“My Jihad is to stay fit despite my busy schedule. What’s yours?”

“My Jihad is to build friendships across the aisle. What’s yours?”

“My Jihad is to not judge people by their cover. What’s yours?”

Photo source: TheBlaze

While certainly anything could have set off Russell’s bizarre, jihadist-fueled threat, it does seem oddly inconvenient timing for CAIR that the incident happened the same week the Hamas-linked group launched its #MyJihad ads. Perhaps Russell was merely trying to express what jihad means to him.